Vacation
by XcelltasticX
Summary: The Arisen and his pawn decide to take a vacation for a deserved rest after an unfortunate incident with a drake.


**Vacation**

Night has set in Gran Soren as the Arisen and his pawns returned from their mission. Previously tasked with the ordeal of gathering five giant fish, a quick visit to the coast with a fisherman in tow made short work of that problem. Upon entering the gates, they were asked to escort a small deployment of soldiers to the Shadow Fort who carried various tools that were apparently needed to repair the wooden supports of the walls. But he cared little for the reasons of their departure. The old fort was quite famous these days and many merchants, townsfolk and even the grumpiest of old men followed its´ siren call to relive the great valour of times past; a needed boost of morale with the impending ar of the Dragon. Truth be told, the scent of easy coin was more than enough to capture the Arisen himself and, with the help of a Portcrystal and several Ferrystones, a quick business scheme was established. Yet nothing was ever perfect. Upon delivering the soldiers the group noticed that all stones were used up; leaving them in the woods with barely any supplies to speak of at dusk. Ostrava cried out in anger, his pawns flinching in the process, and set of for the encampment on the other side of the lake. Forceful strides marked his path. His heavy stomps echoed in the woods that send companions and animals alike scurrying around. The soft clinks of his greatsword banging against the several branches fell in a tune with his breathing. Outbreaks such as this weren´t rare with his emotional personality and sometimes irrational way of thinking; quite contrary to his pawn with her rational and calculating mind. True enough, the two were like night and day. Ostrava, a man of great statue, tall, broad shoulders and muscles honed from the hard labour as a fisherman in the scorching heat on the open sea. Black hair, tanned skin, straight jaw, slightly protruding cheekbones, thin lips, a crooked nose with wide nostrils and blue eyes. His childhood as an orphan and the hard work steeled both his body and mind for the hardships of life. Licia, on the other hand, was anything but. A frail form with pale skin, not exactly skinny or sickly but still petite enough to be considered weak, showed that her tastes lied in the arcane arts rather than the brute force her Master was so fond of. Her face was lean and a few freckles adorned her nose which was quite small as if put there to contrast with her eyes. Eyes as clear as the sea was blue and green as the most luscious meadow framed by bangs of brown hair that fell down in waves before landing atop her shoulders.

"Arisen..?" Alex, the ranger of the group spoke. The man was competent enough to be worth a castle. Keen sight, tall, strong arms, stronger legs and speed to match an eel in shallow water. His armour was built for utility except for his mask that hid his features with the help of a big mob of rugged black hair. Why he bothered to hide his face was beyond him but at least it didn't affect his performance in any way. Nonetheless, he ignored the plea; the man was concerned, but so was every pawn if they sensed so much as a whiff of distress. He focused his mind back on his infuriated stride.

The other two pawns Si´ha, the Fighter clad in heavy plates with a sword and shield, claims to have from a dragon. Licia, the Arisen´s Main Pawn and faithful mage companion dressed in heavy red robes, stayed further to the back. Ostrava had set up a clear formation for any upcoming battles; he would charge the strong while Alex was to pick off the weak. Licia would stay back and tend to wounds and provide elemental assistance and Si´ha was tasked to protect her while she recited her spells. Not the most honorable task but the Arisen´s orders was absolute for the stoic and disciplined soldier. Unfortunately, this led to her no-nonsense attitude and overall cold behavior.

Licia, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Outgoing, kind, lighthearted, caring and able to forgive a bad pun once in a while. But her current appearance and body language betrayed her state of mind. To see her master angry was no rare sight; humans had their random emotions after all. He would stub his toe in the morning and be angry until supper, cut his cheek while shaving and not say a word if not addressed. This new open aggression was different. Concerning to say the least but there was something else, something she couldn´t pinpoint. With the rising fear of the unknown she hid deeper within the folds of her heavy cloak.

XXXXXX

To say the night had been rough would be an understatement. At dusk, on their way towards the encampment, they had encountered a drake and, while the fight itself hadn´t been difficult, experienced a troublesome accident. The beast had possessed Licia, a mistake in his calculations. He was forced to strike her down with the pommel of his greatsword. A clear strike on the head would have sufficed had she not moved. While she intoned a Frigor spell, Ostrava had rushed her from behind, ready to deliver the blow as painless as possible, only for her to turn around. It connected with her nose, breaking it instantly. Blood started to flow freely now, only apparent by the contrast of it on her skin and the ever-growing swollen bump of a nose. Yet she wouldn´t yield to unconsciousness and started to flail at him with her staff. He parried her clumsy strikes easily with his superior strength and speed. The other two pawns were dealing with the winged lizard flawlessly. They ducked and jumped to evade its´grabs and fire, filled gaps in each other's defences with sword and arrows. Considering that they barely fought a week together, this was a big feat indeed. But they couldn´t defeat it, only he could still the beasts heart. Only he could end this quickly. He kicked Licia in the gut to give himself some room. She was a lightweight, always he would ask her to eat but she refused, saying a pawn doesn´t require as much nourishment as a human, the shove easily knocked her back a couple feet. Ostrava adjusted the grip of his sword, the slight edge of the grip now biting in his palm, set one foot a little further back to give his arms a wider arch, blade settled behind his back.

He breathed in deeply

Muscles tensed beneath glistening skin.

And he swung.

With a grunt, the blade began it´s path. The tip of the blade caught a few leafs of grass in it´s way with much slower speed than usual due the wind resistance. The feeling of the unnatural resistance in this practiced movement slowing his swing. Though, the force behind this attack was enough to send her sprawling. A sickening crunch filled his ears, indicating a broken jaw at the very least, followed by the shrill roar of the drake. Now wasn´t the time to think about the consequences of knocking her senseless in such a sickening brutal fashion. He should only think about how to finish this as quickly as possible. He charged the beast with the sword held at shoulder height. The beast roared and stood on its´ hindlegs; frustrated and wounded it stared down the remaining warriors. By now, Ostrava was in a full sprint, his heavy footfalls alerting his pawns. Alex immediately rolled to the left to avoid the wrath of the oncoming berserker. Si´ha, on the other hand, knew of his intention. She and her Arisen had fought drakes before and the only way to kill it was to pierce its´ heart. But only the one touched by the great wyrm itself could still its´ pulse for he had none. Crouching down, she propped up her shield and prepared for the assault. Ostrava jumped and Si´ha and flung him up. His feet connected with the scaly surface of the beast's chest, his sword buried to the hilt in its´ heart. With hollow breathless shriek the beast fell dead. Grunting, the Arisen pushed himself off and went to check up on Licia.

He approached her unmoving form in the grass and knelt beside her. She was still unconscious. Only now then did he see what his actions had caused. Her jaw stood off to the right at a truly gut wrenching angle. Blood stained her porcelain skin in an amber contrast with the setting sun. Teeth and red tissue, whether it was her scarf or skin he couldn't tell, littered the nearby leaves. She was a mess.

"A curative should serve." The voice of Alex carried through the woods.

"Does anyone have herbs to spare?" Ostrava asked from his position. He´d have to set the jaw straight, probably should do it while she was still out of it.

"I used up my last earlier." The Ranger replied with slightly bigger concern; the fleshy crack of Ostrava setting the bone snapped through the meadow like thunder.

"Me too." Si´ha stated matter of factly.

"We´ll head for the encampment immediately," The Arisen grunted as he picked up the now sleeping form of Licia bridal style. "Don't engage in any sort of combat until we get there."

XXXXXX

They arrived at camp some time after sunset. The few remaining soldiers had already set up the fire for the night along with their bedrolls. A few tents littered the area with no one around to guard them.

"The soldiers must have retired already." Si´ha stated absent-mindedly as she walked up to the main tent and rapped on the somewhat closed flap. It didn´t take long for the well-trained personnel to wake up. The commander appeared shortly after, though a little grumpy to have only slept a mere two hours.

"Whatever is the matter, Arisen?" He said groggily; only barely catching the bag thrown to him by the Arisen.

"Four beds and some of the stew. Should be enough to get some medicinal herbs, too." Ostrava managed to say while readjusting his grip on Licia. Her chin must have had hurt from being pressed into his shoulder for the past walk and she snuggled deeper into his embrace, temple resting on his collarbone. He had given the man half a thousand gold, a trivial amount considering their profits from the aforementioned deal and set his main pawn on an especially soft looking cot as gently as possible. The other two pawns went to the fire and helped themselves to a bowl of what looked like rabbit porridge and he joined them a few seconds on a wooden chair near the fire pit. Food wasn´t the only thing on his mind, although it was still very prominent.

"The herbs didn´t help much with the bone but did reduce the swelling. Probably just bought them to ease his mind more than anything. It would require magical aid to restore the lost teeth, too. Either she would have to do it herself once she woke up or seek out a healer in town if she...Didn´t."

He shook his head and resumed his meal in silence. They would just have to wait. After they had finished their respective portions, Alex and Si´ha retired for the night. The stew had been a true blessing, soothing his tense muscles with nourishment and warmth that spread through his entire being. Not even the cold wind of the night could disturb his peace right at this moment. Truth be told, he just wanted to forget that today happened and fall face first onto his cot. His attempts of getting up were stopped by sound of flapping cloth to his right.

"Master? Are you alright?" Licia awoke earlier due to the unfamiliar presence of the other pawns entering the end. Once she realized that they were no threat she tried to ask about her surroundings only find her jaw broken; though the green, powdery residue, most likely an anesthetic, spoke of first aid. She conjured a small Anodyne, barely big enough to fit into her palm, and applied it to offending injury which healed almost instantly. They informed her about the fight after she fell unconscious and upon noticing the absence of her Arisen, she set out to find him.

"Look who´s asking! Hungry?" He asked from behind the fire while filling another bowl with the now rather over-cooked stew.

With a soft "thank you," she accepted it and began to dig in. The ensuing silence only to disturbed by the sound of her wreaking havoc on the small chunks of rabbit.

"Must have healed it herself, then. And where in the world did that appetite come from?" Left to his musings, Ostrava simply continued to look at her and contemplate in silence. She finished her meal in no time and prodded the inside of her cheek to check for any knots of flesh that the healing process may have caused.

"Licia, I apologize for what I did" He said solemnly while staring into the fire. "I should have looked for a different way. I shouldn´t have beat you up like that. I should have su-"

A small giggle interrupted his self-loathing and made him turn his gaze upwards. Licia sat there, shoulders shaking, a hand covered her growing smile, face glowed with the rays of the fire and the blood that rushed to her cheeks and eyes closed.

"Master, you worry too much. Do you remember the incident in the inn a couple weeks ago where we had to share a bed?"

After agreeing to escort Selene, the little girl from the woods who turned out to be a pawn herself and, thanks to her Arisen, became human and moved in with Ostrava to experience human life. To a healing spring in the northern part of the country, they had seeked shelter for the night and decided to treat themselves to some luxury. Then again there were only three beds to offer. So after making sure their charge was secured in a single bed, the rest of the group had to share a night full needed space, awkward bodily functions, oppressive body heat and blankets that were too small.

"Must you remind me of my worst moments?!" Ostrava grunted with a flushed face. Although, his pawn wouldn´t show any mercy and merely continued reciting his torment with a smile that could not be bigger.

"And you even had the baked beans for dinner! I fear I will never forget this night!" She added with full grown laughter. The contagious kind that even brought a smile to his face which up until now held a slight frown like a priced possession.

"It´s a relief to see you happy again." He said with a warm smile. Licia was caught off guard, slightly blushing from the embarrassment. Pawns aren´t like humans, she was well aware of that, she didn´t eat like humans and didn´t sleep like them. She didn´t even have the same emotions as them. But lately that point seemed to change; she felt more than what her instincts told her to feel. More than fear, concern for safety or diligence. Happiness, elation, grumpiness, embarrassment, jealousy, regret, even love were just the surface of the emotional world that now opened its´ gates for her. Though nothing ever comes without a price. Every new thing caused some new, unknown emotion. Every emotion had to be analyzed and categorized for future reference; sometimes leaving her confused and excited or just a plain wreck.

"Come to think of it." Ostrava said while throwing a few dry sticks in the fire to keep it lit.

"What do you think about taking a little vacation?"

"Vacation, Arisen?" She stated with her head tilted to one side. After their time spent on the road he came to understand this motion as a sign of pure and unbridled curiosity. Or an inner conflict regarding overpriced apples, which she claimed to be her favourite fruit.

"I was thinking about spending some time in Cassardis, maybe a week or so. Spend some of that money we earned and just relax in general. We sure could use the distraction, don´t you think?"

Would they truly benefit from time not used to prepare for the Wyrm? Then again, the prospect of not fighting every day was alluring. So was seeing her Arisen in his hometown.

"Very well, Master. Vacation it is."

**AN: Made a poll. If you are interested in the story check it out. Id like to take this chance to thank my beta who graciously agreed to check this chapter for typos. Name will be anonymous until I am allowed to say it. **


End file.
